restroom. all right. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is tuesday, may 24th. voters in five states head to the polls in another big primary day today. the most closely watched in georgia, where the power of donald trump's enforcement of his big lie will be put to the test. not only in the race for governor, but also for secretary of state. we'll also go live to alabama, where senate candidate mo brooks surged in the polls after donald trump pulled his endorsement of the republican congressman. plus, the latest on the baby formula shortage. another shipment is expected to arrive tomorrow. we'll tell you where it's headed. and house speaker nancy pelosi will be our guest on set this morning. along with joe, willie, and me, we have former aide to the george w. bush white house and state departments, elise jordan. she is an msnbc political

analyst. and the host of "way too early," jonathan lemire. white house bureau chief of "my politico." and host of "the circus," john heilemann. good to have you all. polls open in less than an hour in georgia, where one of the most consequential primaries of the midterms is taking place. there are several state and congressional races on the ballot, but the ones we're closely watching are the republican primaries for governor, secretary of state, and senate. "the new york times" describes the background of today's races like this. quote, georgia's got everything. disputed elections, rapid demographic change, celebrity democrats, a restrictive new voting law, an open criminal investigation into donald trump's meddling in the 2020 election, a deep rural-urban divide and unending drama

between the trump wing of the republican party and the local gop establishment. that's a lot. former senator david perdue, whose loss in the state two years ago helped give democrats control of congress, is running to unseat incumbent governor brian kemp. perdue was recruited by former president trump to run against kemp as payback for kemp's refusal to overturn the 2020 election results, thus cheating in the election. recent polling shows perdue is trailing badly so far, willie. >> arguably, as important in the state of georgia as those is the race for secretary of state. incumbent brad raffensperger, another of president trump's major targets after the last election, of course, he's facing congressman heist who voted against certifying the election results, and he backs the big lie. also, herschel walker, the football star in the state, is

likely to win easily his party's nomination to face incumbent raphael warnock in november. donald trump and mike pence campaigned on competing sides in georgia yesterday. pence holding a rally at an airport for incumbent governor kemp, while trump called into a tele-rally for daifrd david perdue. trump calls kemp the worst election integrity governor in the country. pence called governor kemp one of the most successful republican governors in the country. >> i'm here because brian kemp is the only candidate in tomorrow's primary who has already defeated stacey abrams, whether she knows it or not. i know, i can read the newspaper. i know the polls look good. real good. but don't let up. don't slow down.

keep chugging. >> the latest fox news poll has governor kemp leading donald trump's hand-picked candidate, david perdue, by32 points. the average of polls has kemp up over 20 points. trump dismissed the polls, saying he expects a surprise. >> they tried to put out some fake news about me sort of losing faith in david. and i'll tell you what, if you know david, you don't lose faith in him. i think a big, big surprise is going to be tomorrow. i think david perdue -- i hear it's like record, record turnout. they've never seen anything like it. the big news is, though, that poll -- and i hear another one came out -- is much closer than the fake news wants you to believe. they had me way down a couple times now, in two elections, way down in certain areas. i ended up winning them by a lot. it's called suppression polling. i railly think that maybe is

what they did here. i think it is what they did. i think it is going to be a very interesting race. and if it does get into a runoff, david perdue is your next governor. >> joe, donald trump playing the hits there, talking about the polls being suppressed, about the fake news, and also saying he supports david perdue very strongly, except he couldn't make the trip from florida to georgia at the rally. he called in. fascinating to watch his vice president on the opposite side of this race. >> it is. one of the things that trump said, i won by a lot. the guy never won by a lot. he lost the popular vote two times, squeaked by one time, and lost, of course, in 2020. still can't get over it. yeah, it is fascinating to see mike pence going out there. obviously, we're starting to see more and more of this, where people who were afraid of their own shadows a couple years ago all across the republican party are now speaking up, standing up to donald trump. it's quite fascinating.

those who are still defending him, john heilemann, seem to be going all in with trumpism. seem to be looking backwards, looking back to 2020, and even using some of the tactics of 2020. david perdue yesterday using the fascist -- talking about greatest hits, using greatest hits from fascist politicians. told stacey abrams to go back to where she came from. >> no, no, no. >> yes, he did. >> go back to where she came from. a clear hallmark of what fascists from mussolini-ford has always done. i don't think he realizes she's from the land of cheese. the land of jim vandehei. wisconsin. that's not exactly what he was meaning. again, it's desperate. it's ugly. it's everything that you would expect from a trump candidate. >> yes. and i would add, she's lived in

georgia since she was in high school, i believe. you know -- >> yeah, this is really painful. >> the other elements of that, joe, i know you noted, not just fascist but also racist. he decided to, because she'd said over the weekend that people shouldn't have to work -- the african-americans shouldn't have to work in agriculture and hospitality to have a job in georgia, and he said, you know -- he decided to attack her, saying, in some twisted sense of logic, that she was somehow demeaning her own race. the notion that david perdue should have anything to say to stacey abrams about how she decides to talk about her own race is, itself -- not even a dog whistle. it is a blaring air horn. look, joe, i think, you know, there's never things to say here. david perdue is about to be humiliated in this race, and so is donald trump. you know, we were having a debate on set. mika, do you think trump was in bed when he made that phone call or in the bathtub, which one? >> maybe in a chair, robe, getting a pedi. i don't know. >> yeah.

>> you know, the problem, though, john, is it's not just georgia. candidates all over, republicans going to see this. we've seen what's already happened in nebraska where trump was humiliated in nebraska. we saw what happened in idaho when he went all in with a radical right-wing lieutenant governor who lost. we saw what happened in pennsylvania. two-thirds of pennsylvania republican governors voted against trump's hand-picked dand dat. now, you just go one state over, a state that he says is one of his best states, alabama. one of his most loyal states. mo brooks, with trump's endorsement, dead in the water. trump withdraws his endorsement. one poll i just saw has him within the margin of error. he could come back and win this race. >> you think about, i mean, the value. just think about if you're a candidate at this point, joe. forget about trump's power or sway within the party. think about what it means to be endorsed by donald trump at this

point. you know, if you look at the two races, perdue and mo brooks, it's like, you know, this is something that has been obvious to anybody who paid attention to trump over the course of his public life, but his loyalty extends about as far as his personal self-interest extends. he starts to see someone who he has given an endorsement to, starts to see that person be in trouble in some way, and he'll withdraw the endorsement officially, as in the case with mo brooks, or like with david perdue, in the state trump cared about more symbolically and, for 2024, georgia could again be a crucial state, likely to be a crucial state in the presidential election, we saw david perdue losing, made clear, yes, he'd make the phone call from the bathtub or the pedi chair. >> wherever, okay. >> but he is not going to the state. >> right. >> as soon as the polls are clear, yeah, well, david perdue, by tomorrow, trump will be saying, david perdue? barely met him. who are you talking about? who is david perdue again? that's what we're going to hear

tomorrow. >> jonathan lemire, it is very interesting. when i first ran for office, i was very young. when i started running, i was 29 years old. everybody talked about biography. you don't have the biography. you don't have the experience. i found out really quickly in that campaign, and i've never forgotten it because it's the truth, people don't care about your biography. people don't care about the past. i learned that after we won the cold war, and george h.w. bush lost the next year to bill clinton, a guy who helped guide us to the end of the cold war. they don't care about the past. they don't care about your biography. they care about their future. i think what we're starting to see now is donald trump demands fealty, not over the future, not over any campaign issues, not over any campaign promises about what's going to happen on policy, but he's all about the past. he's all about 2020. he's making every candidate that

endorses him look backwards, look back to 2020. i can't believe that is not hurting those candidates, because all trump wants to talk about is the past. all voters want to talk about is their future. >> that's what's driven the most of the republican party insane. trump won't move beyond 2020. let's be clear, the environment this fall is extremely positive for republicans. we know president biden's poll numbers are low, inflation is high. there is a real sense that republicans stand to do very well this fall. these trump-backed candidates, who only focus on 2020, could blow that. let's look at the two races real quick. these are two important states for donald trump. as heilemann said, georgia loomed large, not just in 2020 but will again in 2024. alabama, meanwhile, has always been symbolically important for trump. that was the first state he and his inner circle believed they made it. that was the first site in mobile, where he had his first mega-rally in 2015. people said, hey, something is going on here. let's talk about trump and

loyalty. david perdue based his entire campaign on the big lie. his opening statement at the debate the other night was about the big lie and nothing else. now, of course, he's delving into racist remarks, and he is getting crushed. not only did he get a low energy endorsement from trump on the phone call yesterday, trump couldn't be bothered to show up to actually rally for him. then -- >> low energy, isn't he? >> we'll set aside the wisdom of what mo brooks did, but mo brooks literally spoke at the rally on january 6th, 2021, before the -- the hours before the capitol riot. he said it was time to kick ass while he was there. mo brooks is under investigation for what he said there, supporting donald trump's big lie. trump withdrew his endorsement because he was losing in the polls. >> if you really need another lesson in trumpism and why you don't want to take that backing, because it'll get ripped away whenever you least expect it. here are the comments made by democratic gubernatorial

candidate stacey abrams at a fundraising event on saturday, where she was pushing back on governor brian kemp's frequent claim that georgia is ranked best in the nation for business. >> i am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live. now, somebody is going to try to politi-fact me on this, so let me contextualize. number 48 for mental health. number 1 for maternal mortality. when you have an incarceration rate that's on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you're not the number one place to do -- to live. >> okay. then there's that, wait, hold my beer moment. here is what republican gubernatorial candidate david perdue said in response to that. >> did you see what sstacey sai

this weekend? georgia is the worst place in the country to live. hey, she ain't from here. let her go back where she came from, she doesn't like it here. she wants to be the president of the united states. she doesn't care about the people of georgia. that's clear. in '18, what she did, what she said, we'll have a blue wave, do it with documented and undocumented workers. when she told black farmers, you don't need to be on the farm. told black workers in hospitality and all this, you don't need to be -- she is demeaning her own race when it comes to that. >> willie, i don't know where to start with that. no endorsement from low energy don is going to erase all the things that happened there. he got replacement theory in there. hefascist refrain of, "go back to where you came from." then you have an old, white millionaire being indignant that

black people might, quote, get off the farm. not sure -- >> the trifecta. >> -- what to do with that. this is just -- this is -- this is not a dog whistle. this is, like, a foghorn blaring -- >> megaphone. >> -- and it is a foghorn through a megaphone, i guess. again, even endorsement from low energy don is not going to erase the horrors of this. >> and said all that to the cheers of the crowd inside the bar. he was sitting next to peter navorro, former trump adviser, as well. he has somebody supporting him from the trump administration strongly. you know, elise, you grew up in the south. you know what politics are like in those states. the environment now is such that you can say something like that out loud, which is just -- that was a breathtaking 30 seconds or

whatever it was from david perdue, and get cheers in your state. now, the other side of that is he is likely going to lose by 20, 25 points tonight. >> it is just embarrassing. he is digging himself a deeper and deeper hole and just wallowing in it. when it is not looking so good for him today. you know, donald trump might be very confident giving his bathrobe predictions over the phone, since he's, you know, too busy to fly in on his private plane. now, that's really -- if you can't even be bothered to go somewhere when you actually have a plane one state away, that's really an investment in the candidate. but, you know, stacey abrams actually is from mississippi, originally, i believe. mississippi would love to claim her. she can happily go back there and, please, organize and do what you did in georgia for the state of mississippi. but you look at david perdue. what does he want his legacy to be? his legacy is that he blew a senate race because he went in too deep with donald trump, and now he did this whole embarrassing race for governor

that -- why? just, what was the point? so he's just going to say these racist dog whistles, and that's what his legacy is going to be, and not a senator from georgia? it is really embarrassing. >> the racism is shocking. the guy is going to finish his career this way. just blatantly racist statements. you know, one thing, john heilemann, just for our viewers that have never ventured into the deep south, it's important for them to realize -- because sometimes people look at the south as being one big state, one big area. they are not. georgia, actually, as elise and i were joking before, about how georgians -- and we found out, i think, elise, a guy tweeted at us, it was the agriculture commissioner responsible for the name "the empire state of the south." that's what georgia used to be

called. i will tell you, there is a big difference between georgia and alabama politically, at least on the margins. what georgia conservatism is, georgia republicanism is, versus, say, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, arkansas, it is far different. i only say that as a footnote here. even if david perdue thought that his racist dog whistles were going to catch traction, he's even in the wrong southern state to even get a small group of voters going after him. because georgia is far different than many other southern states. >> joe, you know this. i mean, for a long time, atlanta, known as the city too busy to hate, as a state that, you know, one of the cosmopolitan cities in the countries. demographically, not like more heavily rural states.

south georgia, north georgia, a lot like mississippi and alabama. but there is this giant metropolis in the middle of the state, and a giant suburban sprawl around atlanta, that changes everything in terms of how you have to politic there. that is a true republican party as much as it is in the democratic party. a bunch of the states you mentioned before, other southern states, are not battleground states. georgia is now as much a battleground state as pennsylvania at the presidential level. this is a state with rapid demographic change taking place, and where the country club republicanism that dominates the atlanta suburbs has been the core of how you win a republican primary. it's why david perdue, this appeal actually hurts him more than it helps him, with the kind of republican regulars who, right now, are embracing brian kemp. we've seen reporting of this over and over again. suburban republicans dying to get back to a comfort level with the party, saying things like, i happily supported donald trump

in 2016. i happily supported him in 2020. i still like president trump just fine, but i don't care who he is for in this race. brian kemp is good enough for me. he is a person of our state. you see that is part of what is driving this here, the ability of republicans to distinguish between what they say about donald trump and how they decide to vote in a contested republican primary. that's one of the things that will be a real sign of how that -- one of the lessons of the primary season is seeing republicans make the dedecision. we'll see it tomorrow. >> i was talking to an astute political observer of the georgia politics, and i was talking about your focus groups. i said, wasn't it fascinating? the republicans were proud to be ultra maga, or whatever you call it, and 1/6, they trotted the conspiracy issues out.

the issue of abortion, they're like, whoa, whoa, let's not be crazy here. hold on a second. i'm a guy. i was talking about how surprised i was. a person i was talking to said, wait, joe, you shouldn't be surprised. it's georgia, not alabama. it's georgia, not mississippi. just following up, again, on what john just said, you would have gotten that in georgia. you probably wouldn't have gotten that in an alabama focus group of republicans. i think that's one of the reasons why georgia is one of the battleground states going forward for the next decade. >> georgia is the new south. we saw how important it was in 2020. looking at this election year, we see how important it is. then looking to 2024, too, just how the landscape has changed there. even in alabama over the last decade, the landscape has slightly changed there, too. you look at the trifecta of senate seats that donald trump has managed to blow in alabama and in georgia.

this is an area he should have supposed strength in. he can be a rally in the coast, the rural areas. he's even got this crazy, personal tour where he is going to be in the memphis area. you see billboards everywhere mid-june, and it's just personal pocket money. so these are areas of his natural strength, yet he can manage to blow it on game day, just by getting too far out there and being far away from where the actual voters are. brian kemp has delivered for georgia republicans. they're happy that he's bringing a huge hyundai -- whatever the -- sorry. some plant. >> hyundai. >> i love it. >> okay, yeah. they're happy about that. he hasn't made waves. he might not have been as strong on 2020 election fraud as donald trump would like, but they're happy. he is a strong incumbent.

>> we're going to get live reports from both georgia and alabama ahead this morning. also ahead, a rare show of protests by a russian official. a veteran diplomat resigns over his country's invasion of ukraine. we'll tell you what he had to say in a very public statement. and president biden urges world leaders to make greater efforts to counter russia's aggression. without naming names, he appeared to nudge india's prime minister on the issue. plus -- >> people have to know that they are worthy of every right, of every opportunity, of every -- whether it is health care or fairness in the economy and the rest, people have to know that they are worthy. >> house speaker nancy pelosi spoke yesterday at the global citizen now summit, and she joins us here on set this morning to talk about the midterms, ukraine, the baby

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the new york city police department says it has identified a suspect in this weekend's deadly shooting on the subway. investigators say andrew abdullah is wanted after a man was shot and killed on a q-train in lower manhattan sunday morning. the 48-year-old victim worked at goldman sachs and died from the unprovoked attack. the suspect fled once the train arrived at the canal street station. the suspect is in his 20s. anyone with information is asked to contact authorities. a texas family is pursuing claims of negligence against the dallas mavericks and the dallas texas police, among others, after a teenage girl was abducted and disappeared for nearly two weeks last month. the 15-year-old girl was at a mavericks game with her dad on april 8th and went to the bathroom, then she disappeared. her dad told police at the game her daughter was missing but was told to report it to his

hometown police station, according to an attorney for the family. the girl was found 11 days later at a hotel in oklahoma city. after an anti-human trafficking agency discovered photos of her on the internet. six women and two men were arrested and now face charges for sex trafficking the teen. in a letter to the dallas police, the mavericks, american airlines center, and the hotel where the girl was discovered, the families attorney said they are pursuing claims of negligence all around. arguing more should have been done to find her sooner. a spokesperson for the dallas police told fox news last week an officer searched the area after the girl's dad reported her missing. that doesn't seem to be enough. at all. >> that's the worst nightmare, that story. >> the worst. >> like the worst parental nightmare. >> taking a child to the basketball game, going to the bathroom. >> the kid disappears. the facts of this case -- we'll

know more. but if the arena really said, "hey, not our problem, call your hometown police," if that is true, i think that sounds like negligence to me. >> yeah. >> joe. >> you know, the most unbelievable thing is, from my reading of these stories, mika, the dallas police department refused to even open a file onc >> refused to open a file. so the family was forced to go to a non-profit group, who actually found her up online. i guess it was a site where, you know, they were trying to -- >> yes. >> -- sell her into slavery. it's just absolute -- it is unbelievable, the negligence top to bottom in this case is shocking. coming up, jonathan swan of "axios" joins us, following his interview with volodymyr

zelenskyy. we'll have more on the topic that had the ukrainian president comparing his life to groundhog day. plus, mike pence is stumping for georgia governor brian kemp, a move that goes against former president trump. we'll look at whether this is laying the groundwork for a trump versus pence race in 2024. we'll be right back. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish] discover is accepted at 99% of places in the u.s. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish]

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tried to do that, and any person, when it comes to you for the first time, on the second or third and the fourth time. but when it becomes repetitive, remember the groundhog day. he didn't want it to repeat, you know?

he was living through the day on and on again. people were spending their money, investing the effort. they tried, so i was prepared to help them. but i wake up in the morning, it's still the same. so i'm quite philosophical about this situation. >> ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy talking about assassination attempts against him, making a reference to bill murray's "groundhog day" movie. speaking through a translator yesterday there with national political reporter for "axios," jonathan swan, who joins us now from davos. jonathan, good morning. good to see you. what were your impressions of the president yesterday? >> reporter: well, as you can see, he has his sense of humor. when i was with him last in person was in kyiv a long time before this invasion in january last year. that was one of the hallmarks of

his personality. you know, he was a comedian, an actor before becoming president. but he's now, obviously, a wartime president. what i noticed in the interview, beyond that light moment that you shared, is the path to deplomacy seems to be narrowing. any time he's asked, i want to meet with vladimir putin, sit down and negotiate. when i asked him this, he basically said he thinks it is going to be very difficult now to negotiate after all the red lines that putin has crossed. massacres in bucha and many other places. what people don't realize is there are actually divisions within zelenskyy's own administration about whether to make any concessions to russia.

one thing i asked him about was a very, very revealing line of questioning. i quoted to him his own military intelligence chief, who said the only way to get russia off our territory is through force. exclusively by force, nothing else will work. he wants them totally out. there are others in the administration who feel the same way. zelenskyy is somewhat in the middle. he does think there needs to be negotiations, but, as putin commits more and more atrocities, that becomes not just harder, you know, to do politically, but also from a point of morality. >> yeah. >> zelenskyy has utmost moral authority right now globally and in his own country. >> yeah, no, absolutely. sickening. here's what he told you, jonathan, when you asked him about americans who argue the u.s. should not get involved in

the ukrainian war. >> translator: at first, they have to start reading some memoirs of the second world war. so what can i say to the people who think that this is just for europe, this is far away, this is not in our backyard? this is somewhere in the world. but the world is much smaller than we think. >> i think it is important for republicans and democrats who tend to agree with this, jonathan, that this is a fight for the safety of europe, ultimately the safety of the world, for democracy versus autocracy. it could get lost in translation and in the battles that americans are facing here between each other domestically. >> yeah. president zelenskyy actually flashed quite a bit of irritation at people who are making these arguments. i put to him, i haven't seen

anybody really put to him the strongest version of that america first argument, which is that it's europe's problem. if they want to fight russia, let them fight russia. it has nothing to do with america. he really got quite impassioned, as you saw there, but also in his extended remarks, saying that this will not stop at ukraine's borders. this war will not stop at ukraine's borders. he was really speaking directly to americans who have that point of view, through the interview. >> jonathan, it's jonathan lemire. congrats on the interview. there's been adding to the doubt of a negotiated settlement, is there is some renewed, understandable, interest from ukrainians, perhaps to push beyond the borders of february 24th, as their counteroffensive has become successful against the russians. in your interview, zelenskyy touched on that, responding to

what one of his generals had to say. give a sense as to his sense whether ukraine wants to take some territory back. >> this is a really key question. previously, president zelenskyy has indicated -- he spoke to russian journalists in march, and he basically outlined what would potentially be the broad contours of a possible peace settlement with putin, which is, they retreat to the february 24 borders. ukraine declares neutrality, gives up on its nato membership aspirations, and then they start negotiating over cimea and the donbas. now that ukraine has performed so well on the battlefield, his military, and, in fact, many ukrainians, their confidence is rising. given the russian military is performing so poorly, there is the temptation to push onwards. the europeans are worried about

this, and, frankly, so are some in the biden administration. if the ukrainians push on and try to take crimea by force, this gets into the questions of putin humiliated, feeling like he is -- potentially the existence of his regime is on the line. that's when the previously unimaginable questions of nuclear weapons and other things come into play. it is a really difficult question. you can see in the interview, zelenskyy himself is struggling to grapple with this tension between wanting to get ukraine's land back that is ukraine's, and also, you know, the fears of what that might entail, in terms of loss of life and catastrophe. >> jonathan swan, thank you very much for your reporting and shar sharing that interview with us. we appreciate it. still ahead, we'll have more from elise jordan's focus group with georgia voters, as

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49 past the hour. time now for a look at the morning headlines across the country. in new york, the times union reports governor hochul confirmed delgado will be sworn in as her new lieutenant governor tomorrow. the special election to fill his congressional seat will be on the same day of the august primaries. the "south jersey times" reporting 43,000 american lives were lost on roads last year, the highest in 16 years, as americans return to the roads after the pandemic forced many

to stay home. analysts say the risky behavior during the pandemic, like speeding and not using seat belts made the problem worse. the mental health crisis facing america's youth and the pressure it is putting on educators. a surge in student mental health needs, combined with staff shortages and widespread episodes of misbehavior and violence is putting extraordinary strain on school counselors and psychologists. in many school districts, last weekend's shooting in buffalo promoted staff discussions on response efforts. willie. in rhode island, the "westerly sun" is looking at health officials who remain unsure of what is causing mysterious cases of severe liver damage in hundreds of children around the world. experts say the best available evidence points to a common stomach bug that is not known to cause liver problems in

otherwise healthy children. the illness is considered rare. officials are looking into 180 possible cases. and the "boston global," a scathing, new report found boston public schools largely are stuck in, quote, entrenched dysfunction. failing to fix late bus, reduce segregation of black and brown students with disabilities from their white peers, and bringing programs for english learners into compliance with the law. according to the paper, the school district's failures to achieve system wide change has caused thousands of students to languish in their classrooms. still ahead, more on today's big primary elections in georgia, including a race that could determine how future elections in the state are overseen. plus, in the final day of his trip to asia, president biden calls on a world power to do more to help ukraine. "morning joe" is coming right back. can coexist. i could use your expertise.

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welcome back to "morning joe." a few minutes before the top of the hour, a live look at atlanta right now. in just a few moments, the polls in georgia open. we are watching several key races in that state for governor and for secretary of state, where the eventual winner will determine how votes are cast and counted in the next presidential election. we're also following the alabama senate race. congressman mo brooks was down in the polls, then donald trump pulled his endorsement. what happens? the congressman is surging. huh. from the midterms to inflation to abortion rights, we have a lot to talk about with house speaker nancy pelosi. she will join us on set in just a few moments. first, "the new york times" is out with a new piece explaining how mike pence is laying the groundwork for a potential 2024 run. jonathan martin writes, after four years of service bordering

on subservience, the increase increased and bold mike pence is setting himself apart from what many in the gop see as the worst impulses of mr. trump. he is among a small group in his party considering a run in 2024, no matter what mr. trump decides. in an interview conducted last month, pence declined to rule out a presidential run, explainin -- and this is key -- that he and his wife act on prayer. the former vice president said, quote, we'll go where we're called. that's the way karen and i have always approached these things. i just -- so where was prayer in the white house for four years? otherwise, that's a lovely statement. >> he was called, mika. >> well -- >> called to say nothing. >> who knows? it is amazing what people do to

justify -- >> right. >> -- their closeness to power. we learned that. i learned that from so many friends that i've had. i've known mike for a long time, mike pence. i've known a lot of these people for a long time. they came in as fire brands, small government conservatives, and they gave it all away for a failed tv host. so, i don't know, i'll be grappling with that for some time. i still haven't figured it out. historians will be grappling with that for decades. john heilemann, though, right now, you know, the question is, is this still trump's party? i don't know. perhaps it is still trump's party. i don't feel that it is mike pence's party, though. >> no. >> you see what happened in wisconsin with the poll. i hear it all the time. i'm sure you hear it all the time, too. people who voted for trump, they don't want to diss him. at the same time, they're like,

all right, thank you. now go. ron desantis, please take center stage for us. >> well, first of all, joe, let's just say that i think you and i would agree, the one respect we're both like mike pence, we're both driven by prayer. i just want to get that on the record. in this case -- >> well, i know you're not. i am, however. you know, you mock -- >> i -- >> mock god if you will. just on that side of the camera. >> i just pray to a different god. that's all i can say. >> i think you've taken this off the road long enough. what were you going to say about mike pence? >> i was going to say -- i was going to say, look, mike pence has wanted to run for president for a long time. before donald trump, before the idea of running for president was a twinkle in donald trump's eye, mike pence was sitting in indiana, thinking about how he could eventually run for president. he had done a lot of things to basically try to become a

standard bearer for a sort of what used to be the kind of evangelical base of the party, or the evangelical -- traditionally, evangelical conception of that kind of a republican. as a house member, you knew him then, as then governor of indiana. he has always, i thought, lacked a certain kind of set of candidate skills and charisma that would have made him a plausible presidential force. but it is clear he's always nurtured those ambitions. the notion there has been this clean break with trump, the way they finally reached the breaking point when trump continued to trash him over january 6th, he has is liberated, to some extent, to put his toes in the water. i think what he is going to find, joe, is donald trump's influence in the party may be waning, but the influence of trumpism is not waning. the party has been radicalized by donald trump. many people are way out on the limb in terms of conspiracy theory and election denial and in terms of a lot of issues

where trump's influence over what the party looks like, what animates it, are not the kinds of things that mike pence was, ideally, if there was ever any chance he could become the nominee, kind of lined up to try to exploit. i think he is going to have a very hard road ahead of him, i think, in trying to take on donald trump. the fact he was trump's vice president is not going to make him a natural successor to donald trump, but it is indicative, the fact that he is being so aggressive about going out and taking trump on, it may be suggestive and may open the door to a lot of other republicans who are a little afraid to take on trump this directly. they may say, if mike pence can do it, i can, too. we may see it in the months ahead. >> you issued the conspiracy theories, the pizza gate lies, donald trump and others around trump supported, that pence is uncomfortable with. also, it is fascinating, you know, people in the suburbs of atlanta, former republicans, maybe moderate republicans,

maybe just rank and file rain street republicans, uncomfortable with that, as well. so it's fascinating that, here, we had 2000, famously talking about florida, florida, florida. not many would have guessed we're talking about georgia now so much. it is georgia, georgia, georgia. for people who think the south is solidly republican, will be solidly republican, this sort of extremism we've been talking about, that have the democrats picking up basically 10, 15 points over the past several months in the generic ballot test. it's not hard to explain. you go back to 2018. you had donald trump's extremism helping democrats make huge gains in 2018. in 2019, you had the extremism of donald trump and republicans helping democrats win the governorships in louisiana and kentucky. let me say that again. louisiana and kentucky. georgia, a battleground state in

2020 which donald trump gave away to the democrats. i mean, this is -- i still suspect democrats are going to have a very rough 2022. come 2024 again, georgia up for grabs. north carolina, up for grabs. the south, far from solid for republicans in the future, especially with this crazy strain of trumpism. >> right. look, joe, i mean, the other place that's going to be the case is arizona, a state where the crazy strain of trumpism has taken over the party. georgia may be the other kind of signal, battleground state, a state for a long time wasn't a battleground and now it is a state where the election will get decided, along with georgia. one in the southwest. one in the southeast. not trending in interesting ways because of demographic change and, you know, does donald trump's crazy conspiracy theories and election denialism, does that work in maricopa county, the biggest county in

america, one of the most ethically diverse? i think it is a contentious proposition. that'll be one of the legacies trump left for this party, is how to grapple with the fact that a lot of the things he's made people, as you said earlier, elections are voters and what they think of their future. donald trump turned the republican party into one that's focus on the past and him specifically. call it backward looking. that is not a good equation to win elections in america, especially in the battleground states where change is the main constant. republican party is going to be having problems for a long time to come, especially in those places. >> john heilemann, i know you have to run. take care of your doggy. thank you very much for being on this morning. joining us now, from the atlanta journal of institution. white house correspondent for "politico," senior contributor eugene daniels. the polls are officially open in

georgia. one candidate we haven't talked about enough, i think, brad raffensperger. what is the state of play? >> he might be maybe the biggest surprise to me, at least, this election cycle. a year ago, many georgia political figures, analysts, folks like me were counting him out. didn't think he'd qualify to run. he was a pariah among republicans. now, he looks like he has a decent shot of -- a very strong shot of making a runoff against jody hice, trump-backed candidate, and an outside chance of winning this outright. even the fact we're talking about him, even the fact he is in the ball game, in the conversation right now, says a lot about how republicans are rejecting the 2020 lies and rejecting the focus -- at least some republicans -- rejecting the focus on 2020 and focusing on 2020. >> secretary raffensperger was the last line of defense. recounting twice in georgia, once by hand and saying joe biden won. if a different person were

there, the outcome of the entire election may be different. senate races, what are you looking at? let's begin with the perdue/kemp race. will it be as big of a blowout as people are saying? herschel walker on the other side, who people think will win by more than 50 points today. >> dynamic is looking very good for governor kemp. pretty much every public poll shows him not only above the 50% mark he needs to avoid a june run-off, but close to 60%. no one with kemp's campaign or neutral observers have any doubt he will win this election with a big lead. i mean, a mandate among republicans. that sets him up well for a he match with stacey abrams. the senate race lacks a lot of surprise mentality, as well. herschel walker has been ahead in every single poll from the get-go. he has barely mentioned his rivals' names, only when asked directly. he ignored him.

he bypassed forums and debates. he's focused exclusively, almost, on senator rafael warnock since august. so we've got some really interesting november matchups if the primary today goes as we expect. >> eugene, it is jonathan. certainly, to this point, former president trump's endorsement record has been mixed. he's gotten some wins, ohio. he's also gotten some losses. we don't know yet about pennsylvania. they're still counting a week later. obviously, here in georgia, looks like it is also going to be pretty mixed. herschel walker wins big, but his choice for governor, david perdue, seems on track for blowout loss. what is the latest in trump world as to how they view how important today will be, and, surely, they're keeping an extra close eye on vice president mike pence. >> absolutely. i mean, one of the ways that they are thinking about it in the trump camp is how former president donald trump thinks about it. you know, you win some and lose some.

that's kind of how he started to think about it. when you flood the zone with endorsements like he has, and he's talked about this, about, you know, some of these folks are going to win and some are going to lose. however, how big of a loss it is, how public of a loss does actually matter. because when you look at what's happening, and most likely happening, in georgia, as greg pointed out, especially with kemp, it shows that sometimes when donald trump operates by pettiness, it may not work out, right? this is his endorsement in the kemp race and kemp/perdue race. he was pissed at kemp for not overturning the election. when you look at raffensperger, he was pissed at raffensperger for not overturning the election. even in alabama, what he un-endorsed mo brooks. you see the leader of a party saying, if you don't do what i say, if i don't think you're strong enough, i'm not on your side. it seems the pettiness of donald trump will be tested today, whether or not that is the right

and best way to find a candidate that is going to win. i will say, something that's also really important for people to keep in mind is it's not just, you know, the pence wing of the party verse the trump wing of the party. it is also election deiers versus people who accepted the 2020 election and are working to move on. that is the most fascinating aspect of this. >> perhaps some clues can be found in elise jordan's focus groups. that i been so unbelievably revealing over the past week or so we've been watching these. you have some with georgia voters on election integrity. >> i'm excited about these installments because i think the topic is the most important topic we can address today in our democracy. >> yeah. >> and we're going to listen to democrats, then we're going to hear from republicans. i just want to point out, these are focus groups. i'm not going to be disagreeing in real time, necessarily. we're letting people talk and

express their ideas. at the end of the segments, we're going to do a fact-check. you are going to hear some factually inaccurate statements throughout. but they're very important so that you understand the state of democracy in america and how voters are perceiing the integrity of elections. let's go. since republicans use it as ammunition frequently, invoking that stacey abrams didn't concede, is that a problem, that she didn't concede in 2018? >> no. >> he didn't either. >> that's right. >> here we are, two years later. >> two years later. [ laughter ] >> not only that, it doesn't matter she didn't concede. >> no. >> she moved on. >> there's always irregularities, especially in the african-american community. you know, it took me seven hours to vote. i went in there. there were 24 machines. six of them were down. then i have a girlfriend who lives in buckhead, walked in and out. in and out. in and out.

i mean, it's ridiculous. it's blatant. they closed a lot of the early voting spots. they moved the drop-boxes. it was a mess. yes, there were rregularities. do i think it was fair? absolutely. they were saying it was not fair because they knew what they did. they knew what barriers they put in place. but, you know, what do we do in the face of adversity? we rise up and get the job done. they just were not willing to believe that. >> donald trump primed the pump in 2016, saying if i don't win, it's rigged, a conspiracy against me. he did it again prior to 2020. >> yup. >> the only reason why aren't having faith in elections now is because he lost. they see that as prophetic. it is not prophetic. he's always done that. i think, now, at least i'm starting to see, again, the same rhetoric of, if we don't win, it is because, you know, election fraud and all this stuff. >> yeah. >> the pump is already primed for that, and it is really going to get primed after the midterms, i think. >> do you think democrats and

congress have fought hard enough for voting rights? preserve and protect voting rights. >> i guess that's my point. no, i don't think enough has been done, but, also, with the current makeup of congress, i don't know if more could be done. unless they start doing things like blowing up the filibuster. unless they start breaking down senate rules. >> if it is close, and if brian kemp beats stacey abrams by a slight amount, do you think democrats are going to accept the result in georgia? >> they don't accept it but it doesn't matter because the republicans are in control of the senate and the state. there's no recourse. you can go to the courts. it's probably going to end up being the same. they recount, the same 3,000 votes, there is nothing you can do. >> when you look at the numbers and you see biden got 82 million votes and obama got 70? you mean to tell me biden got 12 million more votes than obama?

charismatic, well-spoken, attractive guy. a once in a generation force for the democratic party. he got 70 million. biden got 82? no, it was all vote harvesting. >> but record turnout. donald trump motivated plenty of voters. >> it was mules. >> it was not record turnout. >> yeah. >> more americans voted in 2020 than -- >> they were paid to do it. >> it's called mules. 2,000 mules. >> what do you mean by that? >> there was a movie about 2,000 mules. part of the vote harvesting scheme where he tracked. he got cell phone data. >> i haven't heard this at all. >> cell phone data from wherever he got it. tracked certain individuals that were working for zuckerberg's $500,000 fund, depositing ballots in ballot drop-boxes. >> cameras showing the cars pulling up and doing that. >> is that vote harvesting, someone had a mail-in --

>> the mules were delivering the ballots to the various boxes. there's one cell data map that's generated showing a guy dropping 40 ballots in that box, then driving 5 miles and dropping 30 ballots in that box, then driving. he is doing it all day long, day after day after day. delivering ballots. those aren't his votes, relative votes. those are votes that the machine got from the local areas. they go to the old folks form. you can't fill it out? let me help you. >> it is kind of like an assault on our personal freedoms, our rights as an american, to ensure that our votes are counted. but we can't ensure that. >> right. >> i don't -- i put that vote in, and i think, well, i hope this counts. but -- >> should the president be calling another elected official about votes in an election? like, is that good? >> no, it's not good. but he was mad as hell because

he knew he got screwed. >> yeah. >> and -- and he sees the results and says, this doesn't make any sense. >> we have people that padded the boxes. i mean, it was a straight up, honest election, then he would have won. >> there was not a good enough check and balance. you vote, but like she said, is your vote going to count? is this a dead person's vote? who is this? there is no check and balance. >> so -- >> because if you try to check it, then you're anti whatever that person is. >> you're against the voter rights of other people. >> yeah. >> like the id requirement. stacey abrams is big on that. it's like, if you're doing an honest, true vote, why do you care if you show your id? you show it every place you go. airport, doctor, whatever. >> grocery store, buying a 6-pack of beer. >> everybody shows an id. >> to come here, we had to show an id. >> i don't understand that argument at all. >> let's separate some things. first of all, voter id, i think

80% of americans would be on their side. when you start talking about the conspiracy theories, you know, i know there are a lot of people that are watching that are just shocked. their heads are blowing up. they're saying what? you wouldn't be shocked if your friends and relatives were trump supporters. elise, you've heard this. i've heard this. willie's heard this. you sit there, and i have tried the exercise where i politely go through each conspiracy theory. i spent a lot of time doing it. mika would walk past me and going, why are you doing that? why don't you -- just don't. spent a lot of time doing it, and it is whack-a-mole. you prove one bizarre conspiracy theory about mules, they have another conspiracy theory about a dude from italy with lasers. get rid of that conspiracy theory, they come up with yet another conspiracy theory.

unfortunately, for all the conspiracy theories drummed up by bizarre websites and, as i say, chinese cult websites, religious cult websites, unfortunately for people that buy into that, donald trump's own administration official, who was responsible for checking election integrity, said this was the cleanest election in american history. so that's on the republican side. i have to say, on the democratic side, too, the fact that not one democrat is upset that stacey abrams never conceded the race tells you just how idealogically driven this is. it is hard for democrats to be shocked that trump wouldn't concede the race when they're saying stacey abrams didn't concede. there is no what aboutism. donald trump has -- again, he continues to undermine american

democracy. stacey abrams, though, should have conceded the race. the fact the democrats can't just say that tells you, again, how idealogical this issue has become. >> joe, it really is a cesspool. it is concerning. to quickly fact-check some of the claims that were said. biden received almost 4 million more votes, i believe, than obama. it was record turnout for the 21st century in elections. and, also, the georgia board of elections, they disproved three claims of ballot harvesting that recently were tried and came force. investigators for the secretary of state's office said that the claims, you know, in a particular case, it was a family member returning ballots of family members. and so ballot harvesting is illegal in georgia, and no cases have been proven to date.

>> greg blue jnbluestein, those voters you talk to all your time. you spent most of your career covering georgia politics. you know the points of view. joe is right, if you're surprised to hear about 2,000 mules, you maybe don't live in a part of the country where that has become sort of the guiding story line about what happened in 2020. that's a movie that's out right now. what were your impressions of what you heard? were you surprisd by anything? >> no. this is rhetoric we hear from fervent donald trump supporters and democrats. exactly right, a lot of democrats don't feel abrams did anything wrong by not conceding the race. she will point out she didn't try to actively undermine and allege that she was the governor. you know, she knows she's now not the governor. she didn't try to overturn the election results, she just didn't concede.

she said there was systematic failures in the election. our polling shows even some of these fervent maga supporters, the hard-core donald trump supporters are still showing up for donald trump. they value his endorsement. they still see him as the leading republican figure around the nation. but they still are, at least many of them are still supporting governor brian kemp and other non-trump endorsed candidates. that'll be a fascinating part of tonight's primary in georgia. >> eugene daniels, your thoughts on the focus group on election integrity, what we just saw, and also what this says about trump's hold? and also maybe, is there something with president biden's approval ratings with all this? >> one of the most interesting things is exactly what you guys are talking about. if you don't live in these places, you don't hear these things. it is a stark reminder of how divided in the thinking a lot of the country is. a lot of people are living in

two americas. most of the people probably watch "morning joe" today could have fact-checked, just like elise was doing, in real time, some of the conspiracy theories they heard. those are things you were constantly seeing in the right-wing media ecosystem. these aren't fringe characters anymore. it is part of the mainstream of the republican party. and when you think about president biden's approval rating in georgia, in and around the country, he is underwater in a lot of places. but, you know, in these republican primaries, you're going to see that. he is going to be pissed off. what you're probably not going to see in the general election is democrats voting for republicans because they're upset with president biden, the fact that -- and, you know, senate democrats, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, because the joe biden agenda hasn't really gone anywhere when it comes to the social safety net and those kinds of issues. but what they might do, and this is something this white house knows and they are paying

really -- they're paying a lot of attention to as voting goes in the primary, is how many democrats are staying home? that is something that folks should really pay attention to as we move on and get to the general election in november. >> "politico's" eugene daniels and greg bluestein, thank you very much for your insights. appreciate it. ahead on "morning joe," we dig into a stunning new report on the southern baptist convention and the abuse crisis that top leaders are accused of mishandling for years. one of our guests this morning calls it the southern baptist apocalypse. plus, the pentagon says more advanced weaponry is heading to ukraine. what administration officials are saying about this latest round of assistance. also ahead this morning -- >> young people, the arts, thinking in ways where we find common ground that are unifying. i mean, i could pick a fight on any number of subjects, and i

do, but the fact is, we're trying to find a path that is unifying and not necessarily defining our differences, but finding our common ground. we have to. >> house speaker nancy pelosi weighing in on the importance of finding common ground. she joins the table in a few minutes. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. from prom dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. bipolar depression.

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northern city of kharkiv. four missiles were fired at a building inside a military training center on may 17th. zelenskyy did not specify whether those killed were civilians or military personnel. the strike could be one of the deadliest in the country since the war started. at least 52 people were killed in an attack on a train station in april. a fresh batch of weapons heading to ukraine after a second meeting of the ukrainian defense group. defense secretary lloyd austin created the group last month following a meeting with president zelenskyy in kyiv. during yesterday's meeting, 20 down countries announced new security packages. denmark sent a harpoon launcher, a defense system to help ukraine defend its coast. he thanked the czech republic

for helicopters and tanks. >> the fight is shaped by artillery in this phase. we've seen serious exchanges of artillery fires over the last several weeks. we're going to stick with doing everything we can to make sure that they achieve their objectives. at the end of the day, you know, what this looks like will be defined by the ukrainians and not by us. meanwhile, chairman of the joint chiefs, general mark milley, was asked about sending military trainers into ukraine to help with complex weapon systems, as well as reporting from the "wall street journal" that the pentagon was considering sending special forces to defend the recently opened u.s. embassy in kyiv. >> the united states doesn't have any trainers right now in ukraine. and the -- some of the things that may have been out there in the media, those are planning

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welcome back. i want to talk about something you may not have heard much about in the past. because we've heard opponents of roe v. wade say the landmark ruling distorted american politics for 50 years. and they're right. but they're the ones mostly

responsible by dragging the politics of abortion up into the altar of the church. here's something i bet you didn't know. my church, the southern baptist church, was effectively pro-choice until 1980. this wasn't about jesus. it was about politics. that was the rise of the moral majority in 1980, bringing abortion politics into the pews of republican-leaning churches. now, the catholic church, mind you, has focused on abortion a bit longer. but how disconcerting that religious leaders in that church would deny communion to faithful members of their congregation over a political issue that jesus never once mentioned in the gospels. despite the fact that abortion was both a political and philosophical issue in ancient greece and in rome and when jesus was alive. now, jesus did address most other things that touch our

lives. he told his disciples in matthew 25 that we would be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven if we gave water to the thirsty, fed the hungry, clothed the poor, and brought hope to the hopeless. we were to lead with forgiveness and love. so how doesdistressing a religi leader would bar from communion a congregant who spent her life in politics, focusing really on those truly disadvantaged. let's bring in the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. she joins us now. madame speaker, i've known you for at least three decades. >> yes. >> we haven't talked about your faith publicly. we certainly have in a lot of private conversations because it means so much to you. the last time is when you were talking about your father. i said, i bet you wish your father was here to see you, and you said, he is here. he is with me.

i know exactly. my dad is watching, and he is in heaven. i'm just curious, what do you say to catholics who see what's happening to you in san francisco and wonders why you have an archbishop taking the step like this? >> well, good morning, joe. thank you. yes, we do go back a long way, when you were a new, young member of congress. what's so sad about it, and as you were speaking, i'm thinking of some of the discussions i've had with other members of congress over time. what is important for women to know and families to know, that this is not just about terminating a pregnancy. these same people are against contraception, family planning, in vitro fertilization. it's a blanket thing. they use abortion as the front man for it while they try to undo so much.

that's what they tried to do in the affordable care act, which didn't have anything about terminating an abortion -- a pregnancy. so let's just say that, you know, i wonder about death penalty, which i'm opposed to, so is the church, but they take in action against people who may not share their view. thank you for referencing the gospel of matthew, which is sort of the agenda of the church that is rejected by many who side with them on terminating a pregnancy. so we just have to be prayerful. we have to be respectful. i come from a largely pro-life italian-american catholic family, so i respect people's views about that. but i don't respect us wasting it onto others. now, our archbishop has been vehemently against lgbtq rights, too, in fact. he led the way in some of the initiatives on -- an initiative

on the ballot in california. so this decision, taking us to privacy and precedent, is very dangerous in the lives of so many of the american people. again, not consistent with the gospel of matthew. >> i'm sorry your religion has been brought into this. let's turn to the political side of this. i'm concerned how we preserve all of our rights as women given the fact that this leaked draft opinion looks to overturn roe. the senate passed a piece of -- or the senate voted on a piece of legislation that looked to expand abortion rights. was that a productive gesture? what do you think democrats should do toward the midterms to really campaign clearly on this issue? >> well, i don't think they expanded abortion rights. what they did was to enshrine roe v. wade into the law. enshrine roe v. wade into the law. that's what we've done.

we did it right after the horrible decision in texas, the vigilantes following women around and all that. that's what that does. and it was unfortunate that some of the republicans who claim to be pro-choice -- pro the decision. we call it a decision as a woman, as a family, with her doctor, her family, and make those decisions. but, no, i think it was really important to make that vote. i think it was most fortunate that those who profess to be supportive of a woman's decision in that regard found that to be too much. that was roe v. wade. that's the enshrinement of roe v. wade. so in terms of to your larger question, women, i think -- you know, you've heard me say before president lincoln said public sentiment is everything. with it, you can accomplish almost anything. without it, practically nothing. for public sentiment to weigh in, people have to know. so women have to know how

pervasive this is. i mean, as a catholic, i try to talk to some of my colleagues, republican colleagues, some years ago, to support what the catholic church was asking us to do for global family planning, natural family planning, which our law allows to happen. and they said, we're not for family planning domestically or globally. we're against it. now, that was family planning. that wasn't anything beyond that. so understand what is at risk here. again, i think it is very insulting to women, to have their ability to make their own decision hampered by politics. this should never have been politicized. it should never have been politicized. joe described it perfectly with the transition from where we were to where we are now. and, you know, it is also a cover for a lot of other things

that the far right wants to accomplish. >> that's what i was -- what will it mean, if and when it is overturned, and is this an issue that could galvanize voters on both sides of the aisle? >> yes, i think so. here's -- we always are running with kitchen table issues. >> right, and there's a lot of them now. >> how do people pay for food, for rent, for education, for prescription drugs and all of that? i hope we can talk about that. all of us -- but we also know that our democracy is at stake, what they're doing to voter suppression, in voter suppressing and also in the nullification of elections. but that doesn't really hit home as much as a kitchen table issue, the kitchen table issues do. a woman's decision is a kitchen table issue. >> it sure is. >> so they have now taken freedom, which is on the ballot,

home. that will -- they tell me that in georgia, the women are really -- >> they're galvanizing? >> galvanized is the word i thought, but it was even more than that. >> okay. feeling some passion about this. willie geist has the next question. willie? >> hi, willie. >> good morning, speaker pelosi. thanks for being with us this morning. i know you well enough to know you won't entertain a hypothetical about losing the house, but let's talk about the headwinds you're facing. inflation at 8.5%. gas around 5 bucks a gallon for some people. recent nbc poll showed president biden with a 39% approval rating. 75%, 3 out of 4 americans, believing we're on the wrong track. how do you overcome that when the country, it looks like, says, democratic president, democratic congress, and i don't like where we're headed? >> well, we've faced some of that before, and we have been

successful. but let me just take -- you mentioned two statistics. let me mention two more. what we've seen even this morning, that nearly 70% of the american people now say they could withstand a $400 emergency. that's almost a reverse of what we had a couple of years ago. another figure is that, higher than that, into the 70s, the american people said they have a comfort level with their economic situation. now, let's get to your point about some of the, shall we say, i don't know what's in washington d.c., well, history says -- we're not talking about history. we're talking about the future. history says the president loses seats in the off year. well, the president gains seats in the won year. this president did not, but he won the election and helped us hold the house. we helped him win the election. those of our candidates are

members who want with trump on the ballot, in the trump districts, are in strong shape. we want more. we have to offset some changes, but we want more. i feel -- i have absolutely no intention of us losing this election. we'll win it one election at a time. we own the ground with our mobilization. we'll havenon-menacing message. we'll have enough money, and we will win. it is absolutely essential for our country. our democracy is on the ballot. our freedom is on the ballot. but to get to your point, the kitchen table -- we talked about the kitchen table issues. in terms of inflation, so much is being done by this president. we have to make sure that public sentiment understands that. inflation is a global phenomenon

right now. in fact, in the uk, it's around 10%. so that doesn't make it any better for us. what are the things we are going to reduce the global inflation and what that means to us? now, the competes act will address the supply chain. supply is down, so prices are up. we passed the other day two bills in terms of price gouging and market manipulation. bring down the cost of price at the pump. that has something to do with the war in ukraine, but not everything. a good deal of it. we're also working on reducing the cost of food for people because of the exploitation, again, of the consumer by some in the agriculture industry. okay. over and above all of that, understand this. unemployment, the president created almost 8 million jobs. when unemployment -- and unemployment was cut in half.

when unemployment goes down, inflation has gone up. so that's -- and wages have gone up. that contributes to inflation. we want unemployment down. we want wages up. we have to address the inflation issue. we are. >> americans need to see those changes. they need to know the numbers go down. i want to ask about why you're in town, the global citizen urgency of now summit. but on this point, democrats will be campaigning on the midterms during turbulent economic times. some of the things that may be they may have no control over. there's a food crisis. there's things happening around the world that could impact the economy. the baby formula crisis, this, to me,s unforced as an error. push back if you want. was there a failure to communicate at the highest

level, failure to prognosticate? are there ways in which legislation can be passed sod this doesn't happen again? >> well, there has to be. tomorrow, the appropriations committee, under the leadership of rosa delouro, will have a hearing. also, the commerce committee under mr. pollone, chairman pollone. so we're coming at it a couple different ways. let me also just say this. you see the chairman of the -- or ceo, chairman, of abbott apologizing for that. we have to find out. i mean, look, a baby cries, we don't have food, come on. >> as bad as it gets. >> it hits us home as deeply as possible. >> yeah. >> but we did pass last week two bills. one overwhelmingly passed bipartisan, in terms of, again, setting us on a course that it cannot happen again. but the other, to have the money, $20 million, with an "m,"

to help facilitate baby formula getting to families. the republicans voted against it. how do you vote against some million dollars for baby formula? >> i know. >> how do you do that? >> i don't get it. >> consistent. when we did the bill to reduce from $300 to $600 per month for insulin, only 12 republicans in the house voted for the bill. >> there you go. >> only 12. so understand the challenge we have, always trying to find common ground because it is for the people, for the children. >> house speaker nancy pelosi, thank you. she's here for the global citizen urgency of now summit taking place in new york city. we actually have some of your comments that you made on stage, which we're going to be showing later in the show. we thank you so much for joining us here on "morning joe." it is always great to see you. >> thanks. >> my brother loved having you in warsaw. >> as i said to the president of

poland, we say it to your brother mark, too, the ambassador, we send our best. >> that's kind. how do you lose the endorsement of the former president? alabama congressman mo brooks faces that unique challenge in today's primary election. we'll have more on that race. and the primaries in georgia, we'll have more from both states. "morning joe" is back in a moment. ♪♪ ♪ a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. i look back with great satisfaction on my 32 years of active duty. i understand the veteran mentality. these are people who have served, they'e been in leadership positions,

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for a meeting of the minds against russian aggression. he met the new prime minister who was entered just last weekend, president biden framed the war in ukraine as a global issue. >> we're navigating a dark hour in our shared history. the russian brutal and unprovoked war against ukraine has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. this is more than just a european issue. the fact is if you turn on the television, and you will see what russia is doing now, it appeared to me putin is just trying to distinguish a culture. he's not even aiming at military targets anymore. he's taking out every school, church, every national history museum, as if to try to obliterate the ukrainian culture. and the world has to deal with it. >> the president's call to action there seemed to be at least partly directed at india's prime minister, who was sitting just feet away from biden.

the indian leader faced major scrutiny for what president biden has previously described as a, quote, shaky response to the war in ukraine. although india, which relies heavily on russian oil, has condemned the civilian deaths in ukraine. the country abstained during a u.n. vote earlier this month to watch a war crimes probe against moscow. jonathan lemire, the president, as i said, is on his way home by way of alaska. he will be back later tonight in washington. your takeaway from the four-day trip, first south korea and then japan, marked yesterday by the comments about the united states and its willingness to defend taiwan against aggressions from china. >> yes, this is the president's first trip to asia and his messaging was aimed pretty squarely at beijing throughout, trying to present a united front with south korea and with japan. meeting with this quad which includes india and australia, to present a bulwark against

chinese expansion in the region. obviously, the war in ukraine shadowed this trip as it does everything in the world now in terms of foreign policy. yes, those were pretty poignant presidential sub tweets against prime minister modi of india. he's still buying russian energy and that's allowing putin to finance moscow's war machines. there's great consternation in washington that modi and india have not done more. they're looking out for their own interests, they say, and show no signs of a changing approach. but the president talking about using, perhaps, a military response to if china were to move on taiwan, the white house clarifying the marks but it seems like the confusion is part of the point. it's strategic ambiguity and keep beijing guessing as to what the u.s. intentions would be. they believe the warning was sent. >> interesting. the polls have been open one

hour. still ahead -- live reporting from georgia and alabama as primary voting is under way this morning. plus, "the washington post" columnist max boot takes on who who say ukraine should take concessions in order to end russian's invasions. why he says the west should stop worrying about vladimir putin's feelings. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes

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the physical distance -- >> happy birthday! >> the month in covid history, it's may 2021 and the cdc has something to say -- >> i want to be clear on what the cdc is saying. >> okay, say it. >> and what the cdc is not saying. >> right, we're listening. >> the cdc is saying -- >> what the f is the cdc saying? >> anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities without wearing a mask.

>> covid comes to an end. >> to me, me, me, this is an opinion, it marks the grip of covid on our lives. >> it's a day old and lots of votes, what do you say, joe? >> visit vaccines.gov or text, text your zip code to -- your zip code to -- >> or just ask your grandkids. >> testing! >> this is crazy! this is crazy! [ laughter ] >> i didn't make this up. there's stuff on it. >> and [ bleep ]! this has been "this month in covid history." >> whole lot of crazy. welcome back to "morning joe." it's tuesday, may 24th. let's start on a sad note. you know, there's nothing sadder, you know, you see

stories, jonathan lemire, of people who have invested so much in bitcoin or stock markets and they've lost everything. you know, we have that in sports with the yankees now on a three-game skid. jonathan, you think about all they invested and why? >> little whovilles setting up in the yankees' parking lot station in the bronx. yankees running bankrupt because they faced the first three-game losing season. you hate to see covid off the tracks like this in tough fashions, losing to the lowly orioles after being swept by a doubleheader sunday and one of their players being involved in a little bit of a scandal. but the red sox, joe, we didn't lose yesterday. we had the day off. but we are playing better. look at that. >> player better, yea. >> only three games under .500. >> five in a row for the sox.

got to hand it to you. a little bit of a skid. we have fallen so far, we hold the best record in baseball by a half game over the los angeles dodgers. look, we don't have the dodgers' payroll or the mets' payroll. we will never compete with teams like that. i was happy to see a.l. mlb aaron judge hit two home runs last night and leading up to 17. that's a bright spot. >> i know you guys all want to talk sports but this newspaper of record has an important story where we're going to find out what meatball is saying when he makes that weird noise all the time. >> really? >> yes! right here, i will let you know. i think they're complaining about you. >> what? i don't get it. what is is saying? >> what animals saying when they're barking and yelling and everything else. >> that's on the top of the

newspaper of record for "morning joe"? >> it is. it says here, "the truth about cats and dogs." and it says, "translating the tails your dog or cat tells." i don't want to spoil it but you can find it on page 20, 2 1. >> slow news day. >> all i can say is hunter biden obviously stayed in bed all day yesterday. if that's their headline, "the post" headline writers, man, they're the best. they're the best. mika, come on, what meatball is saying all the time is feed me, feed me, feed me! that's all he is saying. that's all he wants. >> no. >> he's a transactional cat. >> no, he's not. the poll opening in georgia and alabama. we're watching the key races in both of those states with the power of donald trump's endorsement and the big lie will

be put to the test today. mika, let's start in georgia. >> let's start in georgia. there are several congressional races on the ballot but the ones we're watching most closely are the republican primaries for governor, secretary of state and senate. former senator david perdue, whose loss in the state two years ago, helped give democrats control of congress, is running to unseat governor brian kemp. purdue was recruited by former president donald trump to run against kemp as payback for kemp's refusal to just give him a few more votes, overturn the 2020 election results. but recent polling shows purdue is trailing badly. in the race for secretary of state, incumbent brad raffensperger, another of trump's major targets. after the election last election, he's facing congressman jody hice, who voted against certifying the election

results on january 6th and backs the big lie. and trump's backed republican candidate herschel walker looks he will easily win to face republican governor raphael warnock in november. >> let's go right to atlanta where we find nbc's ellison barber. ellison, good morning. we have been talking about these races all week. what are you hearing from voters on the ground? >> this is a very busy political time in this state. as a native georgian, i can tell you i never in my life thought we would be having so many discussions about what would happen politically in this state as we have the last couple of years. the presence of donald trump here looms large. we've been hyper focused on covering the georgia senate race and it's an incredibly important. it's very possible this senate race will determine who has control of the united states senate. the likely republican candidate right now who is leading in all of the republican primary polls,

is herschel walker. in the latest poll, if you look here, you can see how big of a lead he has now. his closest challenger, gary black, is trailing by 358 points. in a rally last night, walker focused a lot of his speech on his personal story and spent a lot of time criticizing president joe biden on his policies, everything from immigration to inflation and energy issues and concerns. interestingly enough one name he did not mention during his speech last night is senator raphael warnock, the man he's likely to face. we have seen national republicans looking at the state and trying to put a lot of the focus on president joe biden and his policies instead of senator warnock because president biden has an approval rating here that has continued to sort of steadily drop. on the flip side, raphael warnock has a lot of name recognition and a lot of people here, even if they don't plan to vote for him, will tell you they like him as a person. herschel walker has a lot of name recognition as well.

he's a football legend here. most people, again, they will tell you they like him as a person, know know him because of football. in his speech last night, he talked a lot about kind of traditional republican talking points, at left in today's party. he talked about his support for the military, his support for police, his opposition to abortion rights. he talked about -- alluded to, rather, the debate over critical race theory and talked about his frustrations with what he feels is the less, unnecessary focus on the color of an individual's skin. he also talked about his history and his past struggles with mental health. listen. >> so i went to this hospital, and the first thing i said, whoa, these people here are crazy. i'm not like them. but as i was working there, i started to see what was going on. i started to see we all fall short in the eyes of god. what happens so time we get ashamed of what's going on in

our life and hide things. what i was doing, i was using athletics as my coping mechanism. at some time in life people may use alcohol or drugs and overeating, all of that as a coping mechanism. i was using athletics. so i started working on herschel, i started working on herschel, and i got better. >> over the years walker has been opened about his past mental health struggles. he said he was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. he has acknowledged violent thoughts and admitted to some allegations of domestic abuse. he said he received treatment and got better. his primary opponent, particularly gary black, accused the football legend of inadequately addressing that past. but voters we spoke to seem unaware of those stories or tell us they feel like he's gotten help, he's talked about it and they don't see it as an issue that would impact the way that they vote moving forward. you look at the polls in terms of a hypothetical matchup here

between walker and warnock. if democrats or anyone thinks this will not be close race, i find that hard to believe having spent the last few weeks, months, traveling back and forth to talk to voters here. msnbc had a poll the other day in the matchup between walker and warnock, the difference just 5%, a little ahead for walker. >> as you said, in the state of georgia, herschel walker is a god. you were watching that video of him signing jerseys and everything else, won the heisman trophy down there about four years ago. nbc's ellison barber, thank you very much. and now republican brooks is still trying to make the case to voters he's the most trump candidate to replace the race of representative shelby. he lost back in march when he plummeted in the polls but recent surveys suggest the race is tightening.

joining us from huntsville, alabama, nbc's correspondent vaughn hillyard. vaughn, it looks like mo brooks will make a race of this afterall. >> that's right. after spending a couple days in georgia, getting a dinner in with allison, we realized it would be worth jumping over the state lines and making a drive over here. we skipped tuscaloosa to get to huntsville, which is, the hometown of mo brooks. let's put this in perspective. two months ago he lost the endorsement of donald trump, unendorsed by the staunch ally. mo brooks onafter 6th, just before president trump spoke to the massive rally and insurrection, said, quote, it is time for us to take names and kiss ass. he wore body armor january 6th. this is an individual who led the objection to the house of representatives of the 2020 election results. that is when his numbers started

to plummet. and then trump endorsed him. and then after that unendorsement, look who has risen, mo brooks. there are two other individuals, katie britt and mike durrant. katie britt is the former chief of staff to retired republican senator richard shelby. we expect her to make this runoff. if she's not able to hit the 50% runoff, the top two will go on. i have republican sources here in the state and i talked with katie britt yesterday at her event but i think it was interesting because my producer called, p.j. toe banja, while i was at the britt event, he went down to talk to durant. durant said if mo brooks makes the runoff against britt, he there throw his support behind him. so we can look at a runoff where mo brooks re-emerged and he has

the endorsement of mike durant. that is saying there could be potentially the next u.s. senator from alabama. and in context with the herschel walker conversation that ellison is having is the types of senators retiring here in 2022. here it's richard shelby, rob port plan. you have the likes of pat toomey, roy blount. these are all senators who did not object to the u.s. election certification on capitol hill. but you see the types of republicans making their way through this primary process right now. when you look at the three candidates here in alabama, as of late last night, katie britt told me she would have also objected. that means all three of the republican senate candidates here would have objected to the 2020 results. this is echoing herschel walker, the likes of j.d. vance, republican representatives in missouri. we are looking at candidates who are very much in a different image or mold than those

retiring republican senators here in 2022. >> so interesting. in some places, anyway, like where you're standing now, it's a prerequisite to question the results of the election to win that primary there. thank you very much. and we will have numbers out of alabama, georgia and elsewhere at the top of our fourth hour. mika? a russian diplomat to the united nations has resigned over the war in ukraine saying he has never been so ashamed of his country. boris bonderoff, the first russian diplomat to step down over the war. in a scathing letter he says, he was left with no other choice. it reads in part this -- never have i ever been so ashamed of my country as on february 24th of this year. the aggressive war unleashed by putin against ukraine and, in fact, against the entire western world is not only a crime against the ukrainian people but

also perhaps the most serious crime against the people of russia, with a bold letter z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous, free society in our country. those who congress seed this war want only one thing, to remain in power forever. live in pompous, tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and costs to the entire russian navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity. today the ministry of foreign affairs is not about diplomacy, it is all about war mongering, lies and hatred. the ministry has become my home and my family, but i simply cannot any longer share in this bloody, witless and absolutely needless ignominy.

joe, not mincing words. i think that is a huge, huge blow to vladimir putin. >> it's certainly an embarrassment. we've seen in the past how vladimir putin treats people who cross him. and people who embarrass him like this. it wasn't a statement. it wasn't a move made without risk to himself and to his family members. he had to know that before he made it but it shows just like retired military man that went on russian television a few weeks ago and just completely eviscerated the army. talked about how putin's decision to threaten finland was laughable. he mocked it. he talked about how russians were isolated in the world. let's bring in right now columnist of "the washington post" max boot. also, of course, senior fellow at the council on foreign relations. and u.s. special correspondent for bbc news katty kay. katty, it's almost like we're

looking again up at a mayday parade during the cold war and trying to figure out exactly what's going on with a bureau shifting to where -- they have to be looking at this statement, have to be looking at what happened on russian state television and asking, what's going on? because we know vladimir putin doesn't allow any criticism. >> that was my exact first reaction, this reminded me of those defections during the cold war, where somebody would manage to get out of the grip of the kremlin, escape across the borders and suddenly do a kind of tell-all of what it was really like behind the iron curtain and to hear this diplomat, who must be incredibly brave, to speak out like this knowing how vladimir putin can retaliate against people who crossed him, even when they're on foreign soil. literally this man's life is now potentially in danger. we've seen him take action against former spies on british

soil. there's no reason to think he wouldn't do the same to this diplomat who was in geneva. there was something he said i think in that statement, the thing about the russian leader wanting just to remain in power forever, that i thought was particularly chilling. there are no succession plans for vladimir putin. he hasn't thought about what happens beyond him. if now his own aim is just to stay in power forever potentially, when we talk about -- when he talks about using nuclear weapons if there's an existential threat to the country, what he really means is a existential threat to his regime and, therefore, to himself. if he sees his options narrowing and sees no way out and that he is going to lose that regime, then i think that's when vladimir putin gets really dangerous. and it takes this russian diplomat bravely to point that out to everybody. those were the words i found particularly chilling because the implications of them in terms of how russia might expand eventually this war, were it to

do so, i think is really about putin identifying himself with the regime, the country is putin, the regime is putin. it's all about putin being there forever. >> you know, max, your feelings about russia, the former soviet union, obviously personal as were mika's father, dr. brzezinski. and you have insights others don't. i'm curious, what are we to make of the signs of dissent where he's in geneva whether he's beyond the reaches of vladimir putin or whether he's a highly respected man going on television and mocking and evisce vladimir putin's moves. what do we think of that? >> clearly there is dissent in upper russian circles. people have information even though putin tried to crack down on that. they can get it through telegram

and other sources. most of the russian elites were shocked and surprised by the invasion of ukraine. he did not mobilize public support for this war of aggression. i'm sure most elites are horrified by what putin is doing but they also fear for their lives. if they stand up to putin, he has complete control of the state. so they don't have any way of changing his policy. that's kind of the tragedy of russia right now, joe, is everybody -- i think most of the elites in russia can see the terrible course they're on under putin, the tragedy for both not just ukraine but russia but they can't do anything about it. it's a one-man state even more so than it was in the days of the communist party when at least you had a politte bureau and there was a check and balance on the supreme leader. right now it's not putin. it's not how he makes decisions or whether he cares if the elites are behind him or not because his message is get behind me or suffer the consequences.

>> your piece in "the washington post" is entitled "don't worry about putin's feelings." i think i have at least one brother and husband who agrees with this. the russian offensive appears to be petering out and major ukrainian counteroffensive is still to come. but instead of celebrating the ukrainians' progress, many in the west are reacting with trepidation. french president emmanuel macron is warning russia may not be humiliated. italy is circulating its own four-point piece plan. given that the world's widely expected kyiv to fall within three days of a russian invasion, it is the height of hubris to say what ukraine can or cannot achieve on the battlefield. given the horrors that russia has inflicted on the areas it has conquered, which include rape, murder and deportation, it is the height of inhumanity to insist that ukraine turn over any of its people to indefinite russian occupation. more likely, putin would view

any preemptive concession as a sign of faltering resolve and and simply redouble his determination to outlast his enemies. it's time to stop worrying about sparing putin's feelings. russia must suffer such a devastating defeat that it will be many decades before another russian leader thinks of attacking a peaceful neighbor. i agree, it makes sense. especially when you think about the atrocities. i can't believe anybody would want to put ukraine in the position of having to cede any territory, anybody to russia. but they have nukes. what do you say to those who say we're trying to avoid a world war ii here? >> i agree we should try to avoid a world war iii. that's why have been against getting troops directly into the war and a no-fly zone. i think it's too dangerous. this is not about the united states going to war with russia. this is about the ukrainians

fighting back against the invasion that russia mounted against their own country and the risk of nuclear escalation is one that the ukrainians are willing to bear. let's be clear here, the odds of putin using a nuclear weapon i think you are quite low. but if you were to use one, most likely in ukraine, not nato, because he's not going to start world war iii, the ukrainians are aware of that and not being deterred. my view is we're sitting here on the sidelines. they're fighting our battles for us. they're not just defending us but europe and the entire civilized worlds. they're willing to bear the risk. their fighting and dyeing and suffering the horrific consequences of russian barbarism and brutality. who are we to say we're too worried about russia. don't go too far. obviously, there are lines they should not cross.

they should not invade russia itself or bomb moscow. there are things that are offer over the top but fighting over their own territory which russia stole from them, they have every right to do that and they're doing now right now. we need to support them instead of second guess what they're doing. columnist at "the washington post," thank you and well said. well written. and katty will join us and still ahead in the third hour of "morning joe," what zelenskyy had to say about the possibility of negotiating with vladimir putin. plus, pfizer takes another step forward in the ongoing effort to get covid vaccines approved for children under the age of 5. we'll be right back. k. [zoom call] ...pivot... work bye. vacation hi! book with priceline. 'cause when you save more, you can “no way!” more. no wayyyy. no waaayyy! no way! [phone ringing]

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baby formula from europe is expected to land in washington, d.c. tomorrow. the white house says 114 pallets of hypoallergenic formula will be in the second delivery of operation fly formula. the cargo then will be trucked up to pennsylvania for distribution to hospitals and health care providers. a formula recall and shutdown at an abbott nutrition plant in michigan triggered this nationwide shortage. last week the fda made a deal with the manufacturers to get the plant up and running again. the government ordered abbott to add more safeguards, including hiring an expert to oversee improvements and to monitor possible contamination. >> pfizer reports preliminary findings from a clinical trial show a three-dose regimen of its vaccine produces a strong enough

immune response in children younger than 5 years old to qualify for regulatory authorization. according to the company, three doses were enough to prevent symptomatic infection 80% of the time. however, pfizer said only ten children who took part in the trial got covid after receiving their third dose, which fell short for the number of cases the trial needed to see for a stronger analysis. comprehensive results will be released next month. they will consider pediatric vaccines as well as for moderna's june 15th. the new york city police department says it identified a suspect in this weekend's deadly shooting on the subway. investigators say andrew abdullah is wanted after a man was shot and killed on a q train in lower manhattan sunday morning. the 48-year-old victim worked at goldman sachs and died from the unprovoked attack. the suspect fled once the train arrived at the canal street

station. the police say the suspect is in his 20s. anyone with information is asked to contact authorities. a texas family is pursuing claims of negligence against the dallas mavericks and the dallas, texas, police, among others, after a teenage girl was abducted and disappeared for nearly two weeks last month. the 15-year-old girl was at a mavericks' game with her dad april 8th and went to the bathroom. then she disappeared. her dad told police at the game his daughter was missing but was told to report it to his hometown police station, according to an attorney for the family. the girl was found 11 days later at a hotel in oklahoma city after an anti-human traffic agency discovered photos of her on the internet. six women and two men were arrested and now face charges for sex trafficking the teen. in a letter to the dallas police, the mavericks, american

airlines center and the hotel where the girl was discovered, the family's attorney, said they're pursuing claims of negligence all around, arguing more should have been done to find her sooner. a spokesperson for the dallas police told fox news last week an officer searched the area after the girl's dad reported her missing. that doesn't seem to be enough at all. >> it's like the worst nightmare that story, right? the worst parental nightmare. >> a child at a basketball game and going to the bathroom. >> and the kid disappears. the facts of this case, we'll know more as this goes forward, the arena said, hey, not our problem, call your hometown police. >> hello? >> if that is true, i think -- >> we'll follow it. >> -- that sounds like negligence to me. >> joe? >> the most unbelievable thing is from my reading of these stories, mika, the dallas police department refused to even open

a file on her. >> crazy. >> refused to open a file! and so the family was forced to go to a nonprofit group who actually found her -- who found her up online, i guess, it was a site where they were trying to sell her into slavery. it's just absolutely unbelievable the negligence top to bottom in this case is shocking. coming up -- if russia can't even take kyiv, should the u.s. really be worried about the kremlin advancing further? that's a question jonathan swan asked the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. we'll have that interview straight ahead. "morning joe" is coming right back. t back

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any person who comes to you for the first time and the second and third and fourth time, but when it becomes repetitive, you remember that feeling those things. he didn't want to repeat. he was living through the day on and on again, like groundhog day. people were spending the money, investing the efforts. they tried so i was prepared to help them. that's something i wake up in the morning and feel the same, so i'm quite philosophical about this situation. >> ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy talking about assassination attempts against him, making a reference to bill

murray's "groundhog day" movie. speaking through a translator there with national political reporter from axios, jonathan swan, who joins us now from davos. jonathan, good morning. good to see you. what were your impressions from the president yesterday? >> as you can see, he still has his sense of humor. when i was with him last in person was kyiv, a long time before this invasion in january of last year and that was one of the hallmarks of his personality. he was a comedian and actor before becoming president but he's now obviously a wartime president. what i noticed in the interview beyond that light moment that you shared is the path to diplomacy seems to be narrowing. he really has hardened his view of the prospects of negotiating with vladimir putin. he's been saying until very recently, you know, any time he gets asked, i want to meet with

vladimir putin, i want to sit down with him, i want to negotiate. when i asked him this, he actually, basically said he thinks it's going to be very difficult now to negotiate after all of the red lines that putin has crossed with the massacres in bucha and many other places. and what people don't realize is there are actually divisions within zelenskyy's own administration about whether to make any concessions to russia. one thing i asked him about, it was a very, very revealing line of questioning. i quoted to him his own military intelligence chief who said, the only way to get russia off our territory is through force, exclusively by force, nothing else will work. and he wants them totally out. and there are others in the administration who feel the same way. zelenskyy is somewhat in the middle. he does think there needs to be negotiations but as putin commits more and more

atrocities, that becomes not just harder politically, but also also a point of morality. zelenskyy has the utmost moral authority right now globally and in his own country. >> no, absolutely too sickening. here's what he told you too, jonathan, when you asked about americans and argued -- who argued the u.s. should not get involved in the ukrainian war. >> first of all, they have to start reading memoirs of the second world war. so what can i say to the people who think this is just for europe, this is far away, this is not in our backyard, this is somewhere in the world. but the world is much smaller than we think. >> i think it's important for republicans and democrats who tend to agree with this,

jonathan, that this is a fight for the safety of europe, ultimately the safety of the world for democracy versus autocracy but it could get lost in translation and in the battles that americans are facing here between each other domestically. >> president zelenskyy actually flashed quite a bit of irritation at people who were making these arguments. i put to him, i haven't seen anybody really put to him the strongest version of that america first argument which is it's europe's problem, if they want to fight russia, let them fight russia. it has nothing to do with america. he really got quite impassed as you saw there but also in his extended remarks saying this will not stop at ukraine's borders. this wall will not stop at ukraine's borders. he was really speaking directly to americans who have that point

of view through the interview. >> jonathan, it's jonathan lemire. congrats on the interview. there's been adding to the doubt of a negotiated settlement. is there some renewed, understandable, interest from the ukrainians perhaps to push beyond in the borders of february 24th as their counteroffensive has become so successful against the russians? i know in your interview zelenskyy touched on that in responding to what one of his generals had to say. give us a sense as to his sense as to whether ukraine might want to take some territory back? >> this is a really key question because previously president zelenskyy has indicated -- he spoke to some russian journalists in march and he basically outlined what would potentially be the broad contours of a possible peace settlement with putin, which is they retreat to the february 24 borders. ukraine declares neutrality, gives up on its nato membership aspirations and then they start

negotiating over crimea and the donbas. but now ukraine has performed so well on the battlefield. his military, and in fact many ukrainians, his confidence is rising and given the russian's military is performing so poorly, there is that temptation to push onwards. the europeans are very, very worried about this and, frankly, so are some people in the biden administration i speak to. what they're worried about is if the ukrainians do push on and try to take crimea by force, this then gets into the questions of putin humiliated, feeling like he's potentially -- the existence of his regime is on the line. and that's when the previous unimaginable questions of nuclear weapons and some of these other things come into play. it's a really difficult question. you can see in the interview zelenskyy himself is struggling to grapple with this tension between wanting to get ukraine's land back that is ukraine's and

also the fears of what that might entail in terms of loss of life and catastrophe. >> jonathan swan, thank you so much for your reporting and sharing that interview with us. we really appreciate it. still ahead, coming up, will donald trump lose in georgia again? he couldn't win there in 2020. and his handpicked candidate for u.s. senate isn't do much better. we'll get a live report from atlanta straight ahead. >> just keeps losing. >> i know. a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. finding the perfect designer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in austin between a fresh bowl of matcha and a fresh batch of wireframes.

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sharing that interview with us. >> just keeps losing. sharing that interview with us >> just keeps losing. memorial day weekend is days away which means we're closing in on the unofficial start of summer and very busy travel season. nbc's kerry sanders has a preview. >> reporter: with memorial day just around the corner, the

summer travel season is heating up and taking flight, many already hoping to beat the major weekend surge. >> we needed a little time before everybody got crazy here. >> reporter: more than 39 million americans are expected to hit the skies and the roads this holiday weekend. a more than 8% increase from last year, which travel volumes nearing pre-pandemic levels. >> top destinations this year are beginning to return to pre-pandemic destinations, so your orlandos, your anaheims, places like big theme parks, london, paris, rome, dublin. >> reporter: even with soaring costs and rampant inflation, many are itching to get away. >> i'm just happy to be traveling. i'm just happy to be out. >> reporter: from the railway to the runway, many trains and flights for memorial day already sold-out. nationwide 2.5 million passengers are expected to fly each day this holiday weekend. >> you're heading to the airport

this weekend, thursday and friday mornings are going to be the busiest days. >> reporter: but the real rush will be on the roads, even as gas prices continue to climb, with the national average now at $4.60 a gallon. many americans are still choosing to fill up and drive to their destinations. to avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic, experts say plan ahead and get out the door early. don't travel during peak hours thursday and friday afternoon, where traffic from coast to coast, including in new york, houston and los angeles is expected to increase dramatically. meantime, for so many others across the country -- >> 5.61 a gallon. horrible. >> too much for gas. too much. i can't travel. >> reporter: -- the unrelenting pain at the pump is forcing them to slam the brakes. alan has been driving his rv for months. the price to fill a single tank, a wallet-busting $400.

and he only gets about 8 miles to a gallon. luckily he found a way to enjoy the holiday weekend without breaking the bank. >> we call this a staycation. >> reporter: you're how close to your house? >> five still a vacation. >> it is still a vacation. >> that wasker yeah sanders reporting. coming up. steve kornacki is standing by with a preview of today's key primary races. we'll go to steve at the big board when "morning joe" comes right back. joe" comes right back

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shortcut. >> fly for it like it was your own life. >> good morning, everyone. and welcome to day two of global citizen now. >> it is called global citizen because we're all in this together. >> it is really important to have these conversations. >> understanding the urgency, it is now. >> we need to do this differently if we expect the outcome to be different. >> me tanding up here like this right now, today, who i am with all of you people knowing me is progress. >> i wonder what the world would be like if we just have predominantly female leaders. >> we'll have to take a punch and got to be able to throw a punch for the children. >> oh, my god. >> she dropped the mic. >> yes, she did. that was a look at inaugural global citizen now summit which this week gathered more than 200

speakers. i let a panel with the president of the european commission. ursela von der layen who will unite the world grens russian aggression, a big job that has come later in life. in her 60s. and also featured was house speaker nancy pelosi who you saw on "morning joe" this morning. two of the most powerful women in the world both, by the way, well over the age of 50. it all ties into the work at know your value and forbes. particularly the 50 over 50 initiative. recognizing women hitting their stride in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. let's bring in chief content officer forbes media and editor of forbes, randall lane. because we're getting ready for the next set of 50 over into lists. >> i was at global citizen now for both days and it was electric. but your panel with ursela von

der layen, it was amazing. >> she's amazing. >> and they were the stars. gloria steinham, it was just panelist after panelist, amazing. >> and in terms of the women we're recognizing on this list because nominations are now open for the 50 over 50, the second annual 50 over 50 list. of course we the asia list and middle east and africa following that because we've gone global. but nominations are over for the second u.s. 50 over 50 list. how much time do we have or who should nominate someone. >> and we're open until august 1st. women don't have to wait for someone else to nominate them. we want to hear, it is okay to nominate yourself. we're finding we have people around the world looking for amazing women. but we don't want it to be

just -- if we find you, we want to hear because we're creating a community and a kind of community of change-makers and it requires people to step up and raise their own hand. >> and all of the women go to the annual summit in and around international women's day and started this year and another one next year in abu dhabi. catty, when we surprised this, we were surprised, how many submissions are we going to get. 10,000 was the answer to that question. and the real realization is that these women are here. there are so many of them. we have really, we've literally arrived. >> yeah. and one of the things that i love this whole concept, mika, is something that you've said that i hadn't really thought of in that way is that the runway is so long. and that is great for women over 50. but also what i like is that it is great for women who are younger, right. because you remember what it was

like in our 20s and 30s. and we spent our whole time running and running thinking we only will this tiny little window and if we didn't get it done by the age of 40, we would never have a career or success in life. you could carry on way beyond the age of 50 because that is such a positive message. you could take time and breathe and can moderate your pace a little bit in those years when you're younger. randall, one of the things i wanted to ask about the global initiative that you've launched, women in the middle east and europe and women in asia as well, do you see a common denomination between those women who are winning the nominations around the world, is there something global that you could point to that makes for incredibly successful women who are later in life? >> it is a great question. and it is boiling down to drive. what you see, no matter whether it is nonprofit or for-profit and we encourage entrepreneurs to apply, but nobody tells you

no. that you don't wait for somebody else to validate you. if the door is closed, you will cut your own door. and nas what we're seeing time and time again. and this is full of women, especially older women, who in earlier generations it was even harder. it was still hard but it is even harder. so said i know what i'm going to do and i'm going to make it happen, whether or not somebody else gives it to me. so we're looking for self-starters and take the initiative and don't let anybody stop them. >> and it is an incredible message for younger women and that is why our summit on international women's day in abu dhabi is called the 30 under 30 list and 50 under 50 and mentoring each other. nominations are open nor the next annual 50 over 50 list. this year's list open to women's whose work is primarily based in the u.s., born